Victor G Live@Privi

The name Victor G resonates strongly within the Malaysian underground music scene.

When you think house, when you think techno; those groovy vibes early of a morning at Elysium, Blue Elephant, Pisco or back in day the Backroom and Euphoria, there’s one man that stands out.

Much like Carl Cox, Peter Tong and Paul Oakenfold have institutionalised Ibiza’s crazed summer nights, Malaysia’s Victor G has influenced a whole generation of KL partygoers, from the early days of a burgeoning Bangsar to headlining Euphoria by Ministry of Sound, establishing residencies at Rootz and Twenty One Kitchen + Bar to adapting to the new age of house and techno, the man has done it all.

We caught up with Victor G to discuss his upcoming live video recording at Privi this Friday night, the potential such opportunities can bring to the local DJ community and the evolution of the underground scene since his early days as a 20-year-old spinning vinyl.

“Yes I am really excited for this Friday. I’ve seen clips of how intimate the setting is at Privi and a lot of friends are coming so it should be a great night.

“Internationally and globally, everyone has got into live DJ set recordings. It hasn’t happened as much in KL as the consumer technology isn’t as mainstream, but with the convenience of tools such as Facebook Live and YouTube, we have the chance to be par with the rest of the world and that is great,” he says.

Embracing new technology has been central to Victor G’s success and growth of his musical legacy and sound; something that has seen him transition from vinyl to CD’s and the latest gadgets around.

“I never thought I needed to change my sound. There’s been a constant evolution of house music from 10 years ago to now, with lots of trends and lots of new music being released.

“Every time I DJ then, I’m conscious of wanting to create a new experience for people. I spend a lot of time sourcing new music and searching through what has just been released and incorporate it into my new sets.

“Around 60 per cent of new sets is fresh material.

“I’ve always done this and love doing this, but going back to the issue of technology, that is where everything has changed.

“Back 15 years ago, if you heard a snippet of music you liked, you’d have to go an ask the DJ who played it and then go to the record store and find it. Today you just Shazam the track and download it and use it in your next set. And if you need to share it, the internet does that for you.”

Victor G started his career playing vinyl, lugging 20 to 30 kilograms to each gig. And while he misses the adventures of spending hours upon hours in record stores searching for that epic sound, the 36-year-old says new technology has made the profession of DJing a lot easier.

“Yes I miss the whole culture of spending hours in record stores and going through crates of music, but then again it is an expensive affair.

“Back in the day the vinyl culture was really big and the whole market and music they pushed out was all released on vinyl.

“So having to carry 20 to 30 kilograms through the city was the norm.

“But then CDs arrived and now you have new cutting edge technology where you can play from your laptop and other media players and I can walk to a gig with all my music in my pocket.”

Victor’s passion is still burning strong. He’s made regular visits to Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Australia over the years, and is dedicated to contributing to the local scene as long as he can.

That’s why he believes the live video recordings at Privi and the work of Connected is a great boost for the industry.

“There’s only so far you can push your music online, but when you can push it visually as well and people get to see the whole vibe of what is happening, you get to see a different experience. And that can only be a good thing,” he says.

“To be included in what Connected is doing at the moment is an honour. They’ve put on a few nights like this already and have gone to a lot of effort to bring big international DJs to KL.

“I believe I’m going to be the first local talent to play one of their gigs so I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Register your interest for the Victor G Live@privi – Invite Only event Friday Dec 16 from 10pm. Supported by Connected and Privi’s very own Hijack.

As is the norm with all Privi parties — sharing in the knowledge of something secret — entry is INVITE ONLY. So, get in touch with us via the Victor G Live@privi – Invite OnlyFacebook event page or register at our contact page on the website.

It’s completely FREE because our aim is passion, music and nothing else. Space is limited!